I’ve been moon planning for over four years now. This practice has me checking in with myself for around an hour on every new moon and full moon. The regular touchpoints, which happen every two weeks or so, help me stay focused on what I want out of life, while also regulating my emotions.

Here’s what I mean by this: I want to live a life that is creative, free, and authentic — but it’s hard to go against the grain of decades of business school training, corporate work, and people pleasing — so I often feel fear, anxiety, and guilt about my decisions. Moon planning helps me work through my thoughts and emotions at regular intervals so I can stay the course.

But why the moon? Why not just check in with myself every other Monday?

The scientific part of me understands that the moon has the power to affect the tides — and humans are made up of 55–78% water — so maybe the moon has the power to affect us too. The spiritual side of me is fascinated by the age-old possibility that humans can harness the moon’s power for manifestation, harvest, and celebration.

All that to say, there’s something about this practice that clicks for me — perhaps the moon’s gravity is aligning me to its rhythm.

There was one issue though. Over the course of 101 moon planning sessions (since October 1, 2020!), my practice had become rather convoluted. And in recent months, it was feeling more like a chore than a helpful tool for self-reflection.

I knew I wanted to continue with moon planning so I was keen to simplify my practice. I started by peeling away all the doodads I’d patched on over the years. But I also felt a bit clingy — I didn’t want to let go of any of the pieces that made this practice special and unique to me.

To get back to the basics of what my moon planning practice meant to me, I decided on two guiding principles:

1. I wanted the heart of my practice to be the reflective questions that I had come up with when I first started moon planning.

2. I wanted to return to my intuition and reduce my reliance on external interpretations (e.g., astrology, oracle/tarot cards, I Ching).

My two moon planning sessions since simplifying my practice were energetic and dynamic — they felt alive again. Here’s what my revamped practice entails:

• I hold a moon planning session on every new moon and full moon. Each moon phase has its own theme and set of reflective questions (scroll down for all of the details, including the exact dates of the moon phases for the rest of 2024 and into 2025).

• On the day of each new moon, I look ahead in my calendar to see what I have planned for the next two weeks leading up to the full moon. Then I answer the reflective questions in my new moon planning worksheet.

• On the day of each full moon, I look ahead in my calendar to see what I have planned for the next two weeks leading up to the new moon. Then I answer the reflective questions in my full moon planning worksheet.

• I usually take a look back at my notes before my next moon planning session. I like to jot down a few sentences as a little update.

By checking in with myself every two weeks and looking ahead in my calendar to determine what obstacles I might encounter, I’ve been able to move through my days with relative emotional ease — taking steps toward my personal dreams, while also taking care of all the life things I need to do.

In case you’re interested, here’s how you can try this practice:

1. Take a look at the dates below for the next new moon or full moon. The new moon is the start of the lunar cycle, but it’s totally fine for your first moon planning session to be on a full moon (mine was!).

2. Click on the new moon worksheet or the full moon worksheet and answer the reflective questions. You can use a notebook and pen, print out the worksheet, save a copy to your google drive, or download it to your computer. I usually work with these worksheets in google drive.

3. Optional: If you enjoy reading about astrology or pulling oracle/tarot cards, you can incorporate this into your practice. I use these tools (as well as the I Ching, which I just started referencing) to see if there are any patterns of note.

This month’s reflective questions

Instead of reflective questions this month, I’m going to invite you give moon planning a try! Please let me know how it goes. You can leave a comment on the accompanying YouTube video or contact me via my website.

Moon phase themes

Here are the general themes and reflective questions that I use during my moon planning sessions. This is based on a whole bunch of research that I did in 2020. There are many online articles about using the moon for manifestation — unfortunately I didn’t make a note of the ones I referenced as I was just doing research for my personal interest at the time. Thank you to everyone who believes in the power of the moon. 🙏

New moon planning sessions

New moon
Theme: Dreams
Reflective questions: What does your heart truly desire? How do you want to feel moving forward? What dreams, wishes, intentions, and goals do you want to manifest? What specific projects and tasks will you focus on during this lunar cycle?

Waxing crescent moon
Theme: Courage
Reflective questions: What actions are you taking to align yourself with your dreams, wishes, intentions, and goals? How can you build courage and determination to follow through with your plans?

First quarter moon
Theme: Momentum
Reflective questions: What challenges or obstacles do you anticipate will arise during this time? How will you overcome the challenges and obstacles in your path? Is there anything holding you back that you need to let go of? How can you continue to build momentum?

Waxing gibbous moon
Theme: Adaptability
Reflective questions: Have your desires changed, and if so, how? What adjustments, tweaks, or refinements do you need to make to your intentions, goals, projects, and tasks? In what ways will you course correct or recommit to your dreams?

Full moon planning sessions

Full moon
Theme: Gratitude
Reflective questions: What are you grateful for? What progress are you celebrating? Have you experienced any moments of synchronicity? What emotions are you feeling?

Waning gibbous moon
Theme: Connection
Reflective questions: How can you express kindness to yourself and those around you? How can you share your experiences to better connect with the people in your life? How can you better connect with yourself?

Third quarter moon
Theme: Release
Reflective questions: Are you noticing any conflicts, habits, behaviors, or patterns of thought that you need to let go of? What do you want to carry forward with you and what do you want to gently release? Is there anything toward which you need to practice forgiveness?

Waning crescent moon
Theme: Rest
Reflective questions: What do you need to allow yourself to fully rest and restore? How can you create an environment of gentleness, compassion, and healing? What reflections do you have during this lunar cycle?

Moon Calendar

Here are all of the dates that correspond to each phase of the moon. I referenced Astro-Seek and Google Calendar for this information. All times are in the Eastern time zone.

November & December 2024

New moon in Scorpio — November 1 @ 8:46 am
Waxing crescent moon — November 2 to 8
First quarter moon — November 9
Waxing gibbous moon — November 10 to 14

Full moon in Taurus — November 15 @ 4:28 pm
Waning gibbous moon — November 16 to 21
Last quarter moon — November 22
Waning crescent moon — November 23 to 30

New moon in Sagittarius — December 1 @ 1:21 am
Waxing crescent moon — December 2 to 7
First quarter moon — December 8
Waxing gibbous moon — December 9 to 14

Full moon in Gemini — December 15 @ 4:01 am
Waning gibbous moon — December 16 to 21
Last quarter moon — December 22
Waning crescent moon — December 23 to 29

New moon in Capricorn — December 30 @ 5:26 pm
Waxing crescent moon — December 31 to January 5
First quarter moon — January 6
Waxing gibbous moon — January 7 to 12

2025

Full moon in Cancer — January 13 @ 5:26 pm
Waning gibbous moon — January 14 to 20
Last quarter moon — January 21
Waning crescent moon — January 22 to 28

New moon in Aquarius — January 29 @ 7:35 am
Waxing crescent moon — January 30 to February 4
First quarter moon — February 5
Waxing gibbous moon — February 6 to 11

Full moon in Leo — February 12 @ 8:53 am
Waning gibbous moon — February 13 to 20
Last quarter moon — February 21
Waning crescent moon — February 22 to 26

New moon in Pisces — February 27 @ 7:44 pm
Waxing crescent moon — February 28 to March 6
First quarter moon — March 7
Waxing gibbous moon — March 8 to 13

Full moon in Virgo — March 14 @ 2:54 am
Waning gibbous moon — March 15 to 22
Last quarter moon — March 23
Waning crescent moon — March 24 to 28

New moon in Aries — March 29 @ 6:57 am
Waxing crescent moon — March 30 to April 3
First quarter moon — April 4
Waxing gibbous moon — April 5 to 11

Full moon in Libra — April 12 @ 8:21 pm
Waning gibbous moon — April 13 to 19
Last quarter moon — April 20
Waning crescent moon — April 21 to 26

New moon in Taurus — April 27 @ 3:30 pm
Waxing crescent moon — April 28 to May 3
First quarter moon — May 4
Waxing gibbous moon — May 5 to 11

Full moon in Scorpio — May 12 @ 12:55 am
Waning gibbous moon — May 13 to 19
Last quarter moon — May 20
Waning crescent moon — May 21 to 25

New moon in Taurus — May 26 @ 11:02 pm
Waxing crescent moon — May 27 to June 1
First quarter moon — June 2
Waxing gibbous moon — June 3 to 10

Full moon in Sagittarius — June 11 @ 3:43 am
Waning gibbous moon — June 12 to 17
Last quarter moon — June 18
Waning crescent moon — June 19 to 24

New moon in Cancer — June 25 @ 6:31 am
Waxing crescent moon — June 26 to July 1
First quarter moon — July 2
Waxing gibbous moon — July 3 to 9

Full moon in Capricorn — July 10 @ 4:36 pm
Waning gibbous moon — July 11 to 16
Last quarter moon — July 17
Waning crescent moon — July 18 to 23

New moon in Leo — July 24 @ 3:10 pm
Waxing crescent moon — July 25 to 31
First quarter moon — August 1
Waxing gibbous moon — August 2 to 8

Full moon in Aquarius — August 9 @ 3:54 am
Waning gibbous moon — August 10 to 15
Last quarter moon — August 16
Waning crescent moon — August 17 to 22

New moon in Virgo — August 23 @ 2:06 am
Waxing crescent moon — August 24 to 30
First quarter moon — August 31
Waxing gibbous moon — September 1 to 6

Full moon in Pisces — September 7 @ 2:08 pm
Waning gibbous moon — September 8 to 13
Last quarter moon — September 14
Waning crescent moon — September 15 to 20

New moon in Virgo — September 21 @ 3:53 pm
Waxing crescent moon — September 22 to 28
First quarter moon — September 29
Waxing gibbous moon — September 30 to October 5

Full moon in Aries — October 6 @ 11:47 pm
Waning gibbous moon — October 7 to 12
Last quarter moon — October 13
Waning crescent moon — October 14 to 20

New moon in Scorpio — October 21 @ 8:24 am
Waxing crescent moon — October 22 to 28
First quarter moon — October 29
Waxing gibbous moon — October 30 to November 4

Full moon in Taurus — November 5 @ 8:19 am
Waning gibbous moon — November 6 to 11
Last quarter moon — November 12
Waning crescent moon — November 13 to 19

New moon in Sagittarius — November 20 @ 1:46 am
Waxing crescent moon — November 21 to 27
First quarter moon — November 28
Waxing gibbous moon — November 29 to December 3

Full moon in Gemini — December 4 @ 6:13 pm
Waning gibbous moon — December 5 to 10
Last quarter moon — December 11
Waning crescent moon — December 12 to 18

New moon in Sagittarius — December 19 @ 8:43 pm
Waxing crescent moon — December 20 to 26
First quarter moon — December 27
Waxing gibbous moon — December 28 to January 2